The present invention relates to graphical user interfaces, and more particularly to an improved method and system for report presentation and navigation in a computer system.
A database system is basically a computerized record-keeping system whose overall purpose is to maintain information and to make that information available on demand. The information concerned may be anything that is deemed to be of significance to the individual or organization the system is intended to serve. The information is typically stored as a collection of tables on one or more physical devices, and is queried by a user through a database software application that retrieves and displays the information to the user.
The retrieved information may be presented to the user through a report or series of reports in various formats, such as simple tabular reports, custom reports, graphics, and sound. If the database application is self-contained (e.g., a PC application), then the reports are typically displayed by the database application itself. More advanced types of databases, however, may allow network or Internet access, in which case, the reports may be written in hypertext markup language (HTML) and therefore viewable through a standard web browser.
Complex databases include many different types of reports that include information regarding many different components. The components may be organized hierarchically where a particular component includes sub-components, which also contain sub-components, and so on, creating different components levels. The database reports are interrelated because each report can be linked to various the component levels. The interrelated reports are typically displayed one at a time with buttons and/or hyperlinks allowing the user to navigate among the various system and component level reports. Navigating down component levels in the reports is referred to as a drill down, moving up levels a drill up, and navigating between report types at the same component level as a drill across.
For any given system, the types of reports generally follow the same format and are therefore very similar in appearance. Adding to the complexity is the fact that the reports lack symmetry, meaning that each type of report may not be available for every component level. Due to the asymmetric nature of the relationships between report types and component levels and the similarity of the reports, users often loose track of their current location among the reports while navigating the reports during database analysis. In order to regain their bearings, users typically drill up to the entry levels of the reports or leave, and begin navigation again by drilling back down to the desired levels. This disorientation experienced by the users caused by traditional report presentation and navigation results in lost time and inefficient database analysis.
Accordingly, what is needed is an improved graphical user interface for report presentation and navigation. The present invention addresses such a need.
The present invention is a method and system for report presentation and navigation in a computer system that includes multiple reports about multiple components. The method and system include defining relationships between the multiple reports and the multiple components, and then visually representing the relationships on a currently displayed report. The method and system further include visually indicating the position of the currently displayed report among the relationships, thereby reducing user disorientation while navigating through the multiple reports. In a further aspect of the present invention, the user is also provided with vertical, horizontal, and diagonal report drilling capabilities, which allows the user to navigate in one jump to any report on any component level that is displayed in the visual representation.
According to the method and system of the present invention, the user is provided with a two-dimensional reference that illustrates the relationship among the reports and components, indicates the location of the currently displayed report, and provides a convenient, multidimensional way to navigate by pointing and clicking.